With news of mounting death toll in
neighboring Afghanistan reaching here resentment against US attacks on
Afghanistan is building up. Enduring Freedom the name the US has given to
its operation in Afghanistan is being called enduring oppression by most
of the people. Though not many have tried to come out on streets so far,
there are news of resentment brewing everywhere, from Srinagar to Calicut.
Several places including Hyderabad, Mumbai and Srinagar have even
witnessed public demonstrations by the agitated people. People in Bihar
and Jharkhand are also coming in the open to condemn the outrageous
actions of the US on civilian population in Afghanistan.

The United States has been pounding Afghanistan with deadly bombs by its
stealth bombers for more than a fortnight from its different bases
following the air dashing of three Boeings in the World Trade Centre and
Pentagon on 11 September. The US had accused Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda
outfit for these strikes. The US started bombing when the Taliban
government of Afghanistan asked the US to furnish proof of Osama’s
involvement in the incident and refused to hand him over to the US without
substantiating allegations.

The US bombing of innocent people in Afghanistan is receiving widespread
condemnation from all corners. People are increasingly becoming vocal in
condemning the way the self anointed super-cop is conducting raids
resulting in large scale loss of innocent lives across the devastated
country. It is not only Muslims and their organizations that are
increasingly coming in the open to criticize the heavy US bombing on
already devastated people of the country that has been suffering for more
than two decades due to repeated interventions from world powers.

The attacks on Afghanistan that began on the intervening night of 7and 8
October are being criticized as being biggest terrorist strikes in the
21st century. People say that the US instead of mounting continuous
bombardments of civilian population could have furnished proofs before the
Taliban authorities in Afghanistan who were prepared to hand Osama bin
Laden over to a third country. Meanwhile latest reports indicate that
Taliban authorities have also offered to hand over Osama to a third
country without any proof from the US and have demanded that the US should
stop bombing the country.

Belligerent voices from all corners are now beginning to condemn the
attacks openly following chilling details of large scale loss of life and
destruction in impoverished country. Former Prime Minister VP Singh is
among the most vocal critic of the US onslaught in the neighboring
Afghanistan among the political leaders in the country. He has said that
hegemonic powers are trying with no substantial proofs to destroy an
already improvised country. Denouncing the US attacks the former PM has
said that if the US had any proof of Osama’s involvement in the Tuesday’s
incident, it should present it before the Afghan government and convince
it to hand Osama over to her. Samajwadi Party Supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav
has also condemned the devastating attacks on the neighbouring
Afghanistan. Lashing out at the US the Samajwadi Supremo said that the US
by bombing Afghans indiscriminately has committed one of the greatest
human rights violations in the world history.

The most scathing attack so far has come from the Imam of Jama Masjid
Delhi, Syed Ahmad Bukhari. He told this correspondent that the US attacks
are not aimed at Taliban. The never say die Imam added that the US attacks
on Afghanistan are just the beginning of a long drawn battle against
Islam. The Imam who had planned to demonstrate in front of the US embassy
in New Delhi, but had to abandon the plan, said that US attacks on
Afghanistan should be condemned by all. When asked about the US dropping
of food for the hungry people in Afghanistan, he asked as to whether the
US wants to feed the dead. He added that the war is against whole Muslim
world and the US will have to face consequences later.

Maulana Shafi Moonis, former general secretary of Muslim
Majlis-e-Mushawarat and a senior Jamaat leader told this correspondent
that attacks against innocent people need to be condemned. When asked
about the refusal of Taliban to hand over the fugitive Osama to the US,
the senior Muslim leader said that the stand taken by Taliban is based on
ethics and it should be appreciated. He added that the US should have
furnished proofs for his involvement in the 11 September incidents.
Maulana Abdul Wahab Khilji has termed the US aggression as aimed against
Islam and Muslims. He said that the US sponsored state terrorism should be
condemned by everyone. The Maulana also asked the Indian authorities not
to get involved in the bloodletting in the region by siding with the US.

Renowned author and Naib Ameer, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Maulana Jalaluddin
Ansar Umari has termed the attacks as open aggression. He said that we
condemn any form of terrorism whether individual or state sponsored. He
added that the shameful record of US aggression has caused wide spread
anger against the US in the whole world. The Maulana said that Taliban
have every right to defend their country from the US aggression. Senior MP
and Indian Union Muslim League president GM Banatwala has said that the US
aggression has been a great blow to the rules of international law.
Banatwala said that the attack on US was an act of savagery and no one
should favour such act, but the US action has harmed the whole world by
bombing the devastated country.

Criticizing the US attacks on Afghanistan, Azam Khan, chairman of
Minorities Forum and a Rajya Sabha MP has called it state terrorism and
said that the move is anti-humanity. Condemning the attacks, he told this
correspondent, that the so-called super power is openly violating every
charter of fundamental human rights set by the United Nations. Syed
Sadatullah Hussaini, president of Students Islamic Organization of India (SIO)
has dubbed the attacks illegal and anti-humanity. He said that it is the
latest example of oppression by the powerful countries. Husaini added that
the US should have presented the facts, it claims to have, before the
world and more particularly before the Taliban government where it is
mercilessly bombing. It is not only the leaders alone who are critical of
high handed attitude of the US. Even common people are increasingly coming
out and condemning the US actions on baseless grounds. People are also
critical of India to have blindly backed the US attempts to raze the
already devastated and decimated country.

Public demonstrations are regularly reported from different parts of the
country against the US attacks. They are demanding that the self-appointed
super cop stop its actions in Afghanistan and spare the poor who have
already been devastated by the intermittent war sponsored by the US in
Afghanistan. q